Not That Kind of Doctor
by irite
Summary: When Thor gets injured during battles, he goes to Bruce afterwards for 'treatment.' What Thor doesn't know & what Bruce isn't telling him is that Bruce is not a medical doctor. They enjoy having an excuse to spend time with each other, so this arrangement works out well for both of them. At least until Thor ends up mortal again and post-battle, Bruce finds himself in over his head.


**This was written for Lancinate for the AO3 auction hosted on tumblr. I had a ton of fun working on this prompt, which was something I'd never considered writing.**

**Title credit goes to the post-credits scene in _Iron Man 3_, and the idea to use that line as the title belongs to dysprositos, who jokingly suggested it. I loved it, so here it is.**

**The foes the Avengers fight are figments of my imagination (but might actually exist in something somewhere, I don't know).**

**dysprositos, my amazing beta, was a really big help with this, especially when I was stressing about the summary. I owe her a thousand thanks for that.**

**WARNING: This is a fic about injuries, and the possible squicks include but are not limited to: blood, broken bones, and a dislocated shoulder.**

**Also, slight spoilers for the _Thor 2: The Dark World_ trailer.**

* * *

Somebody had come up with the absolutely brilliant idea to create a giant robotic octopus and turn it loose in New York City.

Bruce was decidedly unimpressed.

As was Hulk, as it turned out. He did his part but immediately transformed back into Bruce afterwards, like it wasn't even worth his time to stick around.

Looking at the still-sparking pieces of the robot around him, Bruce had to agree.

Natasha and Steve had apprehended the behemoth's creator, and that left Bruce with nothing to do. Tony tossed him the spare pair of shorts he kept in a compartment on the suit and waved to him to wait a minute.

Looking around, Bruce could tell they were nowhere near Stark Tower, where they all made their home after the Battle of Manhattan. At first, they'd all gone their separate ways, but over time, Tony had determinedly collected them, luring everyone in with lab equipment or punch-proof heavy bags or advanced archery ranges.

SHIELD seemed to approve, which Tony had spent a week bitching about. He really didn't like them, or at least enjoyed pretending not to.

And speaking of them, they were just arriving on the scene now, clean-up crews swarming out of unmarked black vans. That was one of the few good things about working with SHIELD; the Avengers never had to clean up their own mess.

One unit would almost certainly find their way over to Bruce and eye him suspiciously for a moment before offering him a ride back home; that was how post-battle always went for him. He didn't like to take them up on their offer, though, because they usually seemed nervous around him.

The less he had to be confronted with that, the better, in his opinion. So he would just wait for Tony to finish up and give him a ride home. While flying with Tony was _not_ his favorite thing, it was preferable to the un-subtle side-eyes he would be receiving otherwise.

Thor had offered to take him home a few times before, but Thor tended to fly upright, needing the one hand free to swing his hammer, and therefore would need to hold Bruce in one arm. It was all too unstable for his liking, and he much preferred standing on Tony's foot.

So he sat down on a curb and waited for his SHIELD-assigned nursemaids to arrive, which they did in short order.

Their questions were clinical, to the point, and after he declined needing a ride, they left him alone.

Tired, Bruce rested his head on his knees and dozed off. He was awoken an indeterminate amount of time later by Tony shaking his shoulder.

"You ready to go, big guy?"

Bruce mumbled something unintelligible but stood up, stepping onto Tony's offered foot and reaching his arms around the Iron Man suit and grabbing his wrists tightly together in the back.

"Let's go," Tony said, wrapping an arm around Bruce to keep him steady, and then took off. He was always careful with Bruce, at least, and did none of the showy flips and rolls he was fond of doing when he flew alone.

Steve called it showboating, and Bruce was inclined to agree. Although he would never tell Tony such a thing.

They arrived at the Tower and Bruce headed for his room, wanting nothing more than to sleep off the exhaustion making its way through his body. When Hulk started making choices about their body, it took a toll on Bruce.

He didn't get the chance, though.

"Dr. Banner, I am sorry to disturb you, but Thor is asking for you," JARVIS informed him as the elevator doors opened on his floor.

Nobody really knew how Thor had gotten back to Earth, or for how long he was going to be staying, but he had arrived about a month after Natasha and Clint had moved into the Tower in the middle of a thunderstorm and informed them that Loki was being 'dealt with.'

That was all he would say on the subject despite questioning from numerous sources, including SHIELD, and Pepper had just showed Thor to the room Tony had designed for him. He settled right into their group.

Despite some friction with Tony, Thor mostly got along with everyone. It had become something of a ritual for him to seek Bruce out after a battle, although he usually did it where they had been fighting; he was there when Bruce came to after Hulk retreated.

Today was different, but Bruce was too tired to care much.

"Dr. Banner?" JARVIS prompted, and Bruce realized that he had been leaning against the elevator door, thinking.

"Uh, sure, tell him I'm up here. Thanks."

"Yes, sir."

Bruce went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face and grab the first aid kit from under the sink. Thor usually came to him with some injury for Bruce to 'treat.'

Of course, Bruce was _not_ a medical doctor. He knew how to dispense basic over-the-counter medications and apply bandages, but that was about it. All his other medical skills involved looking through a microscope. Which was kind of useless when faced with Thor's wounds.

But Bruce liked Thor, and he was secretly pleased that Thor sought him out like this, so he indulged him. Bruce would bandage Thor's minor wounds and listen to him retell how he was instrumental in bringing down their foe (he _always_ was), and Thor would grin at him and make Bruce feel accepted.

And, well, there were other feelings too, but Thor had Jane Foster, who he visited regularly, and Bruce was hardly going to get in the way of that. He was practiced at ignoring his emotions, after all.

The cold water helped him feel a little more awake, and Bruce took the first aid kit and went out to sit on the couch and wait for Thor.

"Good afternoon, Bruce," Thor boomed cheerfully, which was a pretty good indicator that, whatever was wrong with him, it was nothing serious.

He stepped off the elevator and came to sit next to Bruce, who shifted around to sit on the coffee table facing Thor, playing his part.

"How was the battle?" Bruce asked as he poked at the edge of the scratch down Thor's arm that Thor helpfully held out.

It was already beginning to fade, but he pulled the antiseptic cream out of the first aid kit and began dabbing it on as Thor told how he "struck down the beast" with his lightning.

The arm was apparently just a graze obtained as Thor flew past; Hulk and Iron Man had been the only ones to engage in close quarters while Thor and Hawkeye provided support from a distance and Captain America and Black Widow found the villain-of-the-week's lair.

There wasn't much else for Bruce to do, and despite himself, he began drooping forward, almost literally falling asleep on Thor.

He jerked himself back awake twice, but the third time he barely regained consciousness to register that he was being picked up and carried.

Several hours later, he woke up in his own bed and found the first aid kit neatly shut on the coffee table.

* * *

After their next battle, Thor's injury was more serious. He came to Bruce carrying his hammer in his left hand and holding his right arm oddly.

Apparently one of their assailants had hit him when he was raising Mjölnir, and dislocated his shoulder.

Bruce had put a few shoulders back into place while working as the only medical assistance for miles in remote places like Kolkata, but usually on children, never on an adult as large as Thor.

For a moment, he considered telling Thor that he wasn't that kind of doctor, but he didn't want their little after-battle get-togethers to end because when else could he have Thor to himself?

He wasn't nearly so tired this time, had consumed an energy drink the SHIELD agents had given to him, and he felt like he could do it.

Directing Thor to sit down on the couch, Bruce stepped in front of him. "I'm going to need to get at your shoulder. How does your armor come off?"

Thor directed him to the appropriate clasps and buckles, and Bruce carefully started undoing them, removing the top half of Thor's armor as gently as possible. Thor's chest was kind of distracting, but without anything covering it, the injury to Thor's shoulder was obvious.

So Bruce focused his attention there instead.

He took Thor's wrist and raised his arm until it was held 90 degrees away from his body. Then Bruce gently rotated it to the outside and listened for the sound of it popping back into place.

It did, and Thor heaved a sigh of relief, moving his arm around carefully, grimacing.

"Hey, take it easy," Bruce warned. He didn't know how long Thor's shoulder was going to bother him due to his different physiology, but he could guess that excessive movement wasn't the best thing for him.

"Now, tell me what happened," Bruce prompted after he'd fetched a glass of water for himself and one for his guest.

Thor did, and Bruce was able to stay awake this time.

* * *

It was time for another of Thor's 'visits to Jane,' and he was eager to go. Lying to his teammates was not something he enjoyed, but he feared they would scorn him if they knew the truth: he was returning to Asgard to visit Loki.

Jane knew and kept his secret, and in return he answered as many of her questions about the Bifrost and travel between realms that he could.

The flames of any romantic relationship between them had died out long ago when she realized that he was not going to be around often and as Darcy put it, "That's one of the reasons you didn't get along with Donald, the sleazy asshole. Well, that and the fact he was cheating on you."

So he and Jane were just friends, nothing more, and if Thor did encourage the other Avengers to believe that he and Jane were a couple, well, that was to protect his secret.

Lately, though, Thor had been regretting not informing the others that he was unattached. In particular, not informing Bruce.

He had what Darcy would call a "crush" on Bruce, and recently his excuses to see Bruce had become ridiculous, even to him. After a battle, even if he had obtained but a scratch, he went to see Bruce, who was skilled in treating injuries and would bandage Thor or do whatever else he required.

That morning, he said goodbye to his teammates and took up Mjölnir, flying out to where Jane still resided in the small town where they had met.

He spoke with her briefly and greeted Darcy, then summoned the Bifrost, which had been repaired shortly after Thor and Loki's return to Asgard.

To Asgard he went.

* * *

It was his ungraceful landing that alerted Jane and Darcy that something was wrong with Thor.

Usually the Bifrost only upset his balance marginally and he was able to correct it himself, but today he fell heavily to his knees, Mjölnir dropping to the ground at his side with a loud 'thump.'

At least the Allfather had not separated him from his hammer this time, Thor thought bitterly as he struggled to his feet.

"Thor! What's wrong?" Jane hurried over, Darcy at her heels.

"My father has seen fit to make me mortal." _For a crime I did not commit_, he added mentally. It would seem that despite being imprisoned, Loki was up to his old tricks again. The difference was that, this time, the veneer of civility that usually prevented Loki from committing acts of true cruelty was gone.

Now was not the time to be dwelling on Loki, though, so Thor shook himself out of his thoughts. Darcy was asking, "Again?"

Mutely, Thor nodded.

"Oh, that's terrible, Thor," Jane said. "Darcy, where's the phone? Call his teammates, maybe there's something they can do."

"No, don't," Thor protested. "This is...embarrassing. I would not have told you if I could have avoided it. I do not want them to know. Hopefully, I will again prove myself worthy and have my powers restored to me. Until then, I shall have to make the best of it."

"We need a plan, then," Jane decided. "Can you lift your hammer?"

Thor doubted that, but he tried anyway. Unsurprisingly, it remained unmoved. "No, I cannot."

"Okay, then. Why don't you get a plane back to New York and just tell them you're letting me keep the hammer to study for a little while? There's nothing else off about you that I can tell. Right, Darcy?"

"Yeah, he's as big, blond, and buff as ever."

Thor considered this, then nodded slowly. "I like this plan, thank you for your assistance."

"It's no problem, Thor. Unless you mind that I'm going to take this chance to run some tests on your hammer."

"Not at all, Jane. It is the least I can do."

Jane's eyes got the gleam in them that Thor was coming to associate with her fascination for knowledge.

"Okay, uh, Darcy, can you get Thor a plane ticket while I get started here?"

"What about that data from the anomaly over Siberia that you were analyzing?"

"That can wait, just save it." Then, to herself, Jane added, "Oh, this is exciting!" She began to hurry to the other room, presumably to gather some of her equipment.

Darcy rolled her eyes, "C'mon, Thor, let's get you a ticket back home."

She managed to find him a flight that would leave early the next morning, although she warned him that it would be expensive. He rummaged around in the bag he had brought with him and removed his wallet. It was something that Steve and Clint had insisted that he keep with him at all times; Thor did not understand why, but he was willing to comply.

At least it would come in handy now.

"SHIELD pays me a salary, and Pepper assisted me in setting up a bank account, where they keep my money. I have a...credit card, I believe it is called."

"Awesome, gimme," Darcy held out her hand.

She punched a few more things into the computer and then went over to the machine in the corner that had started whirring.

"Here," she said, handing him a slip of paper, "Don't lose that. It's your boarding pass. I'll get up at an ungodly hour to bring you to the airport and make sure that you get on your plane okay, deal? And then you'll owe me big time. And I don't want to study Myeuh-myeuh as payment, either."

"I agree, Darcy."

If he had time while visiting, Thor would usually assist Jane and Darcy with an experiment or in doing chores around their place. As Darcy explained it, high ceilings and petite women were not a good mix, so 'put your ginormous muscles to work, Sparky.'

They had a list of tasks for him, so he set to work.

* * *

Early the next morning, Darcy did accompany him to the airport, walking him to the edge of security and carefully instructing him on what he was to do and that under no circumstances was he to lose his temper and start hitting people.

That seemed like a low blow, but Thor knew that Darcy was just trying to be helpful, so he nodded and paid careful attention.

The flight to New York was boring, but Thor supposed that was a good thing. He was uncomfortably cramped into a tiny seat, but there was little he could do about that.

At the airport, he caught a cab back to Stark Tower, where JARVIS informed him that the others were waiting for him in the practice room.

Thor went there accordingly, and faced a barrage of questions from Tony and Steve. Bruce, he noted, was hanging back, leaning against a wall out of the way. He did not usually practice with the others as he disliked letting the Hulk out in such a small, crowded place, but he attended nonetheless.

Carefully, Thor explained his cover story about leaving Mjölnir with Jane and that he had needed to take a regular flight home instead.

They believed him, and although he was invited to participate in their practice, Thor declined, saying that he had slept poorly the night before and wanted to retire to his room for a while.

Clint laughed rather rudely at that, and after a moment, Thor caught onto what he had implied and blushed.

Now was hardly the time to start un-telling lies, though, not when he had just told them one, so he left the room quietly instead.

Practice was not a good idea right now; all of his teammates were observant and would more than likely notice some difference in him that he would be hard pressed to explain.

A nap did sound good, too.

* * *

But Thor was not going to get his nap because scarcely thirty minutes after he laid down, the Tower alarm went off, calling all the Avengers to alert.

Thor cursed but pulled his armor out of the bag where he had packed it to transport back with him (Darcy said he shouldn't wear it on the plane, and had lent him more of the clothing belonging to Jane's 'ex'), and struggled into it, cursing his brother under his breath all the while.

Then he asked JARVIS for directions and hurried to where the rest of his team was meeting.

Steve quickly explained the situation, having been informed by SHIELD, and as they were all heading to the roof for transportation to the site of the battle, he caught Thor by the arm.

"Are you sure you're okay to go without your hammer? You can sit this one out, we can manage."

"I will be fine, but thank you for your concern."

Clint, who was the last one through their door and had evidently overheard their conversation, called back, "Steve, he's a badass fighter even without his fancy doodad. Trust me."

That was settled, and Thor followed Steve up to the roof and took the seat next to him in the transport, enduring Tony's mocking about how Thor was not in possession of the 'balls' to race him to the site of battle any longer.

This time, it would seem that they were fighting a small army of amphibious creatures with long teeth.

Thor could fight as a mortal, but at a much lesser level than his usual performance. Despite his handicap, he threw himself into the battle.

His first injury received was when he proved too slow to dodge a bite on his arm.

Next, he was hit in the chest and could feel a few of his ribs cracking through the armor.

He could _not_ show weakness, though, and he kept going, sustaining more injuries but managing to subdue a fair share of their enemies.

Not as many as he normally would, and he owed Hulk for picking up his slack.

After all the creatures were vanquished, SHIELD arrived and began to clean up the corpses.

Thor used his cape to conceal as many of his injuries as possible and then approached Natasha. "May I travel back with you?"

Clint answered for her, slipping soundlessly up behind Thor, "Guess you don't have your ride with you, Goldilocks."

Natasha elbowed Clint, "Sure you can, Thor. Just give us a few minutes to make a report and we'll be ready to go."

They turned back to the tablets they were using, and Thor went over to sit on the curb, his head in his hands.

He saw Bruce depart for the Tower with Tony, and he hoped that Natasha and Clint would hurry up so that he could get his injuries seen to by Bruce.

It would seem that his foolishness in going to Bruce after every battle was going to be useful, even if he would probably have to reveal the cause of his many hurts.

On the ride back to the Tower in the back of the SHIELD van, Clint attempted to draw Thor into conversation but when that proved unsuccessful, he returned to prodding at Natasha with an arrow until she placed him in a headlock, ignoring his indignant cries.

When they arrived, Thor wearily thanked them for the ride before heading for Bruce's quarters.

He found the doctor waiting on his couch, as usual, and Thor took his seat and showed Bruce a few of the more superficial injuries, letting his head loll to the side as he dozed.

Bruce could find the rest of his injuries on his own; Thor was unused to pointing out every single hurt, especially not when he ached all over.

* * *

Sleeping while Bruce fussed over him was not what Thor usually did, and Bruce was starting to get worried. Thor's injuries were usually easy enough to treat, but today something seemed different.

Bruce lightly shook Thor's shoulder, but he didn't respond. Thor _had_ said he was tired, but this was a little too much. Bruce wasn't even _that_ sleepy.

Something would have to be done, that was clear; Bruce couldn't move Thor by himself, but as he was sitting back to consider his options, Tony's voice came through the intercom.

"Bruce? Is Thor with you?"

"Yeah, and he's acting weird."

"You'd better hear this, then. Dr. Foster, here's Bruce," Tony said.

_Dr. Foster? _Jane _Foster? Why is she calling now?_

A female voice said hurriedly, "Dr. Banner? I saw the battle on TV. There's something you ought to know. When Thor comes to visit me, he's really going home to Asgard for a while." Before Bruce could process that, Jane was rushing on, "This time, though, he came back and said his father had turned him mortal again. He didn't want to tell you guys, so we came up with a plan. But I saw him get beat up really bad in the fight and he doesn't have his advanced healing any more."

That certainly explained things.

Something _was_ wrong.

"Tony, are you still there?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, get Steve up here ASAP. We're gonna need to take Thor to a hospital; I have no clue what's wrong with him, but he's passed out on my couch. Dr. Foster, I'll call you once I have news."

"You do that," she said and then hung up.

Bruce took the blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over Thor. They shouldn't try to carry him to the car by themselves; they could exacerbate his injuries. They'd have to call an ambulance. His heart rate was beginning to pick up, and he took a few calming breaths. He was in control of himself, but it never hurt to be careful.

"JARVIS, call an ambulance, make sure to tell them the patient is on one of the top floors of a skyscraper. Page Clint and Natasha up here, too, please."

Steve and Tony hurried through the door. Bruce stood up to meet them. "I've called an ambulance. I don't know what's wrong with him, but we certainly don't have the facilities to treat much worse than a scratch here."

"Okay," Steve turned to Tony, "Tony, can you drive us there? Bruce, I assume you want to go with Thor in the ambulance."

"Yeah, I do," Bruce answered.

"I'll be in the garage," Tony replied, heading back through the door.

"The ambulance has arrived and I am directing the medics to your location, sirs," JARVIS informed them.

Natasha came running through the door, Clint at her heels. She thrust a file into Bruce's hands, "Here's all the medical info we have on Thor. It has his records from when he was admitted to the hospital the last time he was turned human."

Bruce smiled. "Thanks, Natasha."

"Let's get out of their way," Steve directed the two agents. "Tony's gonna drive us to the hospital."

"Hell no, he isn't," Clint shoved past Natasha as the three of them left the room.

Bruce scanned the file, picking out the pertinent information he would need to tell the paramedics and grabbing his cell phone to shove in his pocket.

"JARVIS, send me Dr. Foster's number, please."

The paramedics came through the door with a gurney, and Bruce explained the situation to them quickly, handing over Thor's file. He did get a few odd looks when he got to the the whole 'alien turned human' bit, but given that their patient was residing in Tony Stark's home, where stranger things had been known to happen, they went with the flow.

Soon, they were down and into the ambulance, Bruce shunted into a corner, out of the way of the competent professionals.

In the hospital, Bruce was shown to a waiting room while Thor was taken away.

The others showed up soon after, and Bruce paced while Tony explained the situation to the others. Steve was bothered and started talking about procedures to make sure that this never happened again; they needed to know when someone's performance might be affected, especially when it was due to injury.

Sheepishly, Clint raised his hand. "Now might be a good time to tell you about the bite mark I have on my thigh, then, right?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and called a nurse, who hustled Clint off.

"Stupid fool never admits when he's hurt," she grumbled.

"Neither do you, Natasha," Steve said sternly. "I can tell you're favoring your left arm. Did you get bitten, too?"

"No, just grabbed. Bruised my muscle. I'll be okay in a few days, honestly."

"If you say so. Tony, you got any confessions to make?"

"Nah, Cap. I'm good, but thanks. How about you, fearless leader?"

Just then, another nurse hurried into the room, "One person may come sit with, uh, Thor, now. He's going to be fine."

Bruce walked over to him, "I'll come. Thank you."

The nurse directed Bruce down the hall to Thor's room and then left. Bruce stuck his head in to check on Thor, who had a large bandage around his midsection and several smaller ones visible on his arms.

He stepped out in the hall to call Dr. Foster and reassure her that Thor was fine. She wanted to come see him, but Bruce managed to convince her that Thor was okay, and then he'd set up a Skype session for them just as soon as Thor was awake.

"I'm sure he'll want to see his girlfriend," Bruce said.

Jane laughed, "Oh, we're not dating! Is that what he's been telling you?"

"Um, I guess not. That was just my impression." Bruce did his best to keep his voice normal, not wanting to give anything away. They could have just broken up, and he didn't want to offend Dr. Foster, not when she'd just been so helpful.

"Well, we're not dating. Thor's not dating anyone, although he does have a crush on someone, I think. He just won't say who."

That made Bruce grin and want to do a happy dance right there in the hospital's hall, but he suppressed the urge and finished their conversation before going back in to sit next to Thor.

The nurse came in periodically to check on Thor, and he said that Thor should be waking up some time soon, as they had only given him some light painkillers because they wanted to see how he reacted before giving him anything stronger.

Bruce got a text from Steve that said that Clint was fine, just a dumbass, and they were going to go out and grab something to eat, did Bruce want something?

Now that Bruce thought about it, he was starving.

He texted Steve back enthusiastically yes, and picked up one of the magazines by the visitors' couch to occupy himself.

Tony brought the food by, and peeked in at Thor. "You got this, big guy? Birdbrain's good to go home, and we were thinking we'd go too since Blondie'll be okay."

"Sure, I'm fine. I'll call you when he wakes up."

After he'd eaten, Bruce felt the post-Hulk exhaustion, his adrenaline rush gone, and he settled in close to Thor for a nap.

* * *

"Bruce?"

His name being called brought Bruce back to awareness, and he saw Thor sitting up and leaning towards him, concerned.

Without thinking, Bruce stood up and grabbed Thor's head, kissing him square on the mouth.

When they broke apart, one of Thor's hands in Bruce's hair, Bruce admonished, "What were you thinking?"

Sheepish, Thor said, "I suppose I wasn't."

"Has the nurse been in to see you yet?"

"No, she hasn't."

"He," Bruce corrected absently, looking for the call button. It had gotten buried under some blankets, but he found it.

The nurse came in and fussed over Thor, explaining his injuries (the worst were his four broken ribs) and asking about his pain levels. Thor argued that he didn't need any more medication, and he eventually convinced the nurse, who left, saying that the doctor would be in later to check on Thor.

They were alone, and they spent a few moments staring at each other before Thor broke the silence. "You kissed me."

"I did." _Was Jane wrong to think that he liked someone? Was I wrong to think that he liked me? Did I just ruin everything?_

Thor's next words were calming, "I like you, Bruce, and I am not dating Jane."

"I know. Well, I mean I knew the second part, not the first. That's nice to hear. Uh, I like you too, Thor."

Thor smiled broadly.

"You wanna get dinner when you get out of here?" Bruce asked.

_Please say yes_.

"I would love to," Thor smiled.

Bruce left at the end of visiting hours and made another call to Dr. Foster on his way back to the Tower.

She evidently heard something in his voice because, just before she hung up, she said mischievously, "Congrats!"

If it was that obvious, Bruce was going to catch hell at home. It was worth it, though.

* * *

Bruce had caught hell at home that evening, not that he minded too much.

He'd gone back to visit Thor at the hospital the next day, where Thor had asked, "Why am I here?"

Bruce had explained that he was not actually a medical doctor, but he had just picked up a few things here and there. Thor's injuries had been far more serious than he'd known how to treat, so he'd gotten Thor to a hospital where he could be properly taken care of.

Thor was surprised but accepting of that fact, and he proposed that the team look into employing a medic so that this sort of thing could be avoided in the future.

He was released from the hospital the next day and they put that proposal up to a vote and despite Clint and Tony's dissention (neither liked doctors), they spent the rest of the evening figuring out how to go about hiring a reliable person.

Once Thor was cleared to move around normally, he and Bruce went out to dinner.

And things continued much like that for the next two months (they still fought battles, but without Thor; if something was bad enough that they needed a sixth team member, Tony called in his friend Colonel Rhodes) until one of Thor's friends arrived to summon Thor back to Asgard.

He was gone for a week, but he arrived back home fully recovered and carrying Mjölnir. The first thing he did was sweep Bruce up for a kiss while Clint and Tony made gagging noises in the background until Natasha hit them both in the stomach, meaning that all the noise they could make for a few minutes was indignant gasping. Apparently Natasha appreciated the romance.

The second thing Thor did was explain somberly that Loki had framed him for an act of vicious violence, but he had been proven innocent and his immortality restored with his father's deepest apologies.

And the third thing was grab Bruce and fly him off to a small restaurant overlooking the ocean at the edge of New York.

Flying with Thor wasn't so bad, Bruce reflected. He could get used to this.

* * *

And after their next skirmish, it was Thor who carried Bruce back to the Tower—back to their bedroom, in fact—not Tony.

And it was Thor who fussed over Bruce, giving him a quick snack and then putting him to bed to sleep off his post-Hulk weariness, Thor changing out of his armor and then climbing in next to his partner for a quick nap of his own.

* * *

**I'd love to hear what y'all think about this. Thanks for reading!**


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